Could The Book Emmanuel Macron Gifted To Pope Francis Have Been Looted By Nazis?

At a recent private meeting between Pope Francis and French President Emmanuel Macron, the latter presented a rare 1796 copy of Immanuel Kant’s Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch to His Holiness as a gift. 

However, the nice gesture has now been cast under the spotlight, with Poland’s Foreign Ministry allegedly investigating if the tome was once looted by Nazis during World War II.

When images of the book surfaced online, eagle-eyed viewers noted it had a stamp, one that traced back to a Polish reading society by university students in Lviv, a region now part of Ukraine. 

As such, the authorities decided to look into the matter, telling the Polish Press Agency that it was “investigating the circumstance” of the world leader’s gift. 

According to Reuters, it appears the book was not in fact stolen by the Nazis, but had already been present in Paris at the turn of the 20th century, ruling out the possibility. 

Dealer Patrick Hatchuel, who had initially sold the book to the Elysee Palace, said that it bore a marking from one of his predecessors, Lucien Bodin, who had settled in the French capital from 1880 to 1910. 

Polish Culture Minister Piotr Glinski agreed with this version of events, confirming that it was not “a Polish war loss,” and that it had indeed been in France at the turn of the previous century. 

Książka I. Kanta ofiarowana przez prezydenta @EmmanuelMacron @Pontifex_pl nie jest polskÄ… stratÄ… wojennÄ…. Wbrew twierdzeniom niektórych mediów, @kultura_gov_pl przewidywaÅ‚o, że dzieÅ‚o to nie jest polskÄ… stratÄ…. pic.twitter.com/b5wBbM7eT1

— Piotr GliÅ„ski (@PiotrGlinski) October 26, 2022

[via ARTnews and Reuters, cover image via Project Gutenberg (Public Domain)]